According to the Mail on Sunday, the Reds boss has now turned his attention to West Ham United’s Cole.

The Hammers have expected bids for the 26-year-old since the transfer window opened, with Stoke City known to be interested in the England striker.

Avram Grant has already signed Frederic Piquionne from Lyon and agreed a deal to take Manchester City’s Felipe Caceido on loan, so will not be short of forward resources if Cole leaves.

With the takeover still not settled, Liverpool need to raise transfer funds before making a formal bid for Cole.

They expect to do that by offloading Argentina captain Javier Mascherano to Inter Milan in the next few days.

Ex-Reds boss Rafa Benitez is keen for Mascherano to follow him to Italy and is now in a position to make that happen, as Inter raised £23 million by selling Mario Balotelli to Manchester City on Friday.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is also interested in Mascherano, but the Spanish champions’ board would rather spend the club’s limited transfer budget on Werder Bremen’s Mesut Ozil.